Brad Keselowski ran out of gas, down the backstretch with 58 laps left, allowing Clint Bowyer to breeze by. That left the No. 15 team virtually unencumbered as they turned on the fuel mileage jets, put a Rip Van Winkle spell over the stands, and advanced to a shocking intermediate oval victory at Charlotte.
It wasn’t the win he has been searching for for more than a year and a half, but for Carl Edwards, a seventh-place finish was a welcome ending. For Edwards, who has just three top-five performances in 2012, this week’s result was only the second to fall inside the top 10 in the last eight weeks, just his 13th top-10 finish in 31 races. That’s half the number he had a year ago, when Edwards lost the Sprint Cup title to Tony Stewart in a tiebreaker. The top-five stat is even more dismal. Edwards finished in that group 19 times in 2011, more than six times as often as 2012. No matter where his points finish is, it will be the worst of his career because he didn’t make the Chase cut and can finish no better than 13th.
With the Nationwide race for the championship winding down to a three horse race, every small advantage is going to be a positive influence for …
*Key Moment* – Matt Kenseth entered Turn 3 of the last lap a sitting duck – even though he was leading the race. Seconds later, he exited Turn 4 the only car still standing in a 500-mile event that could have easily been run as a 1-lap Demolition Derby.
*In a Nutshell* – A spectacular, heart-stopping final 20 minutes of side-by-side drama turned into an eyesore of an ending. Drivers left angry, owners lost millions, officials are lucky no one was killed, and the sport wound up with a virtual punch in the face.
For all intents and purposes, the 2012 season has been a pleasant surprise for the Nationwide Series. A razor-thin title fight, series regulars capable of winning races and doing it, its been at least on paper the best season the Nationwide ranks have enjoyed since 2003. But all good things come to an end, and this cast of characters is no different. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been promoted to Cup, and will be doing his best Matt Kenseth impression in 2013. Sam Hornish Jr. remains without a contract, even in the Penske Racing camp that has stuck behind him so loyally. And through the rest of the top 10 in points, uncertainty is abound; Justin Allgaier, Cole Whitt, Mike Bliss and Brian Scott all aren’t guaranteed to return to their respective cockpits next season.
It’s that exciting time of year again, and no, I don’t mean the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship…. It’s that time when the NASCAR administration announces its revised procedures for the upcoming season. Even with seven events remaining in 2012, there’s no time like the present to begin talking about the new-and-improved future.
And the changes for 2013 go far beyond simply rolling out stylish new versions of existing popular models. NASCAR sees next year as an appropriate time to loosen up its current constraints on testing, qualifying, and practice so as to provide teams more track time and fans more access. Given the “mutual gains” philosophy of NASCAR, we should probably consider these upcoming changes a “win-win” proposition.
Frontstretch Power Rankings
While Talladega is still ahead, it seems that the championship players have clearly been set. Not only are we seeing a repeat of 2010, with a Denny Hamlin vs. Jimmie Johnson championship fight, but the third dog in play, Brad Keselowski, is proving to be more than just a darkhorse candidate. He’s ahead of both drivers in the standings and has won two out of the last three races. Call me crazy, but I think we have a fight on our hands!
*A third of the way through this year’s championship battle, which drivers are looking like they’ll still be there going into Homestead… and whose bid is toast already?*
Phil: Well, Matt Kenseth for sure. That dude can’t buy a break. I’ve never heard a sound like the one produced when his track bar broke.
Amy: I know, Phil, that was crazy. I could almost hear the conversation at the shop: “Hey, what do you want to do with these weird track bars? Toss ’em?” “Nah, we’ll just use them on Matt’s car, why waste them?”
*ONE: Talladega Could Be a Game Changer*
Talladega.
Just the name alone is enough to both quicken the blood and stir the senses… and I’m only going to be watching on television. The biggest, baddest track of them all on the Sprint Cup schedule is next up and, as ever has the potential to be a true Chase game changer.
